Just Give Me A Reason
by RadientWings
Summary: Klaus. Caroline. Sparks fly. After one passionate night, they thought they would never see each other again… Five months later, Klaus gets an unexpected surprise when he runs into Caroline - a very pregnant Caroline. Klaroline. AU. All human.
1. Prologue

**Ok so, this lovely idea was the courtesy of the wonderful carasedrin (she basically co-wrote it with me). Thanks so much S! :) **

**This is my second foray into AU human klaroline, so I sincerely hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own TVD!**

Prologue

"_Right from the start, you were a thief you stole my heart, and I your willing victim"_

Klaus Mikaelson saw _her_ as soon as he entered the club. She stood out from all of the other women here. At first he wasn't quite sure what it was. She was gorgeous, there was no doubt about that, blonde and blue-eyed, her shorts showing off long legs. But it wasn't that that drew him to her, it was something in her smile, that sparkle in those blue eyes of hers.

It was just… _her_.

He found himself pushing through the throngs of people, making straight for where she was standing at the bar and leaning on the countertop, a drink in one hand. Her hair fell in loose curls around her shoulders and Klaus wondered what it would feel like to run his fingers through those blonde locks. Her back was bare, her black halter-top giving him the perfect view of her pale skin.

She finally seemed to notice him when she turned around and her blue met his. In that moment Klaus knew he had to be closer to her. Originally, he had come here to escape, get lost in the people and get away from his troubles with the use of alcohol. But, now, seeing _her_ looking at him, his plans had changed.

She appraised him with a small smile as he continued to walk to her slowly. In return, Klaus let his own eyes rove over her, smirking. He never actually made it to the bar, though, when the girl herself came forward to him and grabbed him by the hand, pulling him instead to the dance floor, a sparkling smile on her face.

He found himself marveling at the softness of her hand in his, the confident sway of her hips as she led him forward. Only when they were in the middle of the crowd did she stop, turning around and awarding him with another radiant smile. She immediately started moving with the music, still holding his hand.

For a moment, Klaus did nothing, simply watching her until she sent him a slight questioning look. Suddenly Klaus came to a decision and pulled her flush into his chest, smirking when he felt a surprised gasp run through her body. He hooked her arms around his neck, his own hands then slowly travelling down her arms and the sides of her body, eventually settling on her her hips. She was looking up at him with wide eyes as he leaned down, putting his forehead against hers.

They started their dance again, this time more fervently, bodies moving together. Eventually, the girl lost her wide-eyed look and it was replaced with predatory sort of grin as she pushed into him, grinding against him, one of her hands falling from his neck and to his chest, over his fast beating heart.

Klaus wasn't quite sure how long he and this nameless, beautiful girl danced like that, but he knew it must have been a long time as the people around them began to thin. Still, they danced, and as they did so, it grew more impassioned. Their eyes stayed locked as they swayed, their faces moving slowly closer and closer.

Eventually, Klaus couldn't take it anymore and gave into his urges and feverishly put his lips on hers, groaning when she responded eagerly, immediately deepening the kiss, her arms wrapped tight around his neck. Klaus' own hands moved from her hips, one going around her waist and under her shirt, touching the bare skin of the small of her back, and the other going to her hair, tugging at the end of her blonde locks as he had been wanting to all night.

They soon found themselves moving away from the dance floor and out of the club. The girl pushed him roughly against the brick wall of the club, once again attacking his lips. Klaus smirked, not having pegged her for one who liked to be so dominant. Well, unfortunately for her, Klaus liked dominating more than her, he suspected.

He had them flipped in the next instant and her back was to the wall instead of his. He stood still for a moment now, both of them breathing hard.

"What's your name, love?" He found himself asking, his voice gruff.

She cocked her head coyly. "Caroline." She answered after a moment, her voice the sweetest sound Klaus had ever heard.

His lips were instantly over hers again, eventually trailing to Caroline's cheek and down to her neck.

"You never told me your name." Caroline gasped, her fingers threaded through his hair. Klaus lifted his head from where it was at her neck and smirked at her.

"My name is Klaus."

"Well, Klaus, what do you say we get out of here?" Caroline asked with a mischievous look in her eyes.

He chuckled deep in his throat. "I couldn't have said it better myself, sweetheart."

Klaus stepped back from her and offered her his hand. Only a second later, Caroline's fingers were once again intertwining with his.

This time it was Klaus who pulled _her_ along.

* * *

Caroline Forbes was not the sort of girl who had one-night stands. She was not the sort of girl who went into a club and danced all night long with some guy whom she'd just met. She was not the kind of girl who spent the rest of the night in bed with aforementioned guy doing things that were probably better left unmentioned; even if said guy was probably the most handsome, sexy man she had ever met. (If anyone asked, she would say it was the accent that did her in – definitely not the mix honesty, pain, and amusement in his eyes or the dark twist of his smirk or the gentleness of his large hands.)

And yet, Caroline did exactly that.

But that wasn't the point. The point was that, _normally_, Caroline didn't do those things. She was the kind of person who went out on dates and had summer flings, sure. But, easy sex? That just wasn't her thing. She was the girl who wanted a serious relationship; as a child she had always dreamt of having her own Prince Charming.

As an adult, she now knew it just wasn't that easy. After just coming out of a good relationship gone wrong, she knew that it would _never_ be that easy. In fact, it was because of her ex-boyfriend, Tyler, that she was in that club in the first place, acting like someone she usually wasn't.

When she finally got there, she'd thought she wouldn't go through with it. But then she saw _him_.

Klaus.

And she was done for.

And it was because she actually _wasn't_ that type of girl that she had left early the next morning, careful not to wake Klaus, thinking she would never see this handsome, sexy man who made her forget her morals, ever again.

Which led her to where she was now, weeks later, in the bathroom, bent over the toilet and throwing up all of her breakfast. It had been happening on and off for the past few days when she came to an awful realization; she was _late_. Caroline was not the type of girl that was _late_… with anything.

Despite initially denying even the _possibility_, Caroline had found herself wandering to the section that held pregnancy tests in the supermarket anyways.

Now here she was, washing her face and mouth, trying to make it seem like she hadn't just puked her guts out and decidedly _not_ looking at the little test that sat on the countertop. Who knew that the waiting time could seem this _long_?

She leant against the sink, her foot tapping up and down nervously, her eyes on the clock. But, even with the waiting, Caroline already had the feeling she knew what the results were going to be, she could feel it in her stomach…. _Literally_.

But her mind refused to accept it. This wasn't a part of Caroline Forbes, small-town girl and former Miss Mystic Falls' immaculate plan for her future. This wasn't supposed to happen to her now. It couldn't. It _wouldn't_.

Caroline was supposed to get further in her career before this happened. She was supposed to get _married _before this ever became a thought. She most certainly _wasn't_ supposed to be just barely starting her life and _single_ when this happened. If she ever had a child it was supposed to be with her _one_ not some handsome stranger she was sure she would never see again.

Caroline glanced at the clock again, seeing that enough time should have passed for the results to show.

Suddenly hesitant and a thousand more times nervous than before, she carefully reached out for the ridiculously small object that was going to decide the course of her future.

Slowly, she glanced down.

Her heart stopped. Her face lost all of its color.

_Positive._

She lifted a hand up to her mouth; panic flooding her system as the realization hit her.

_I'm pregnant._

…

_Shit._

**Okay so, this is simply the prologue of what is going to be a multi-chaptered fic. Everything is already planned out so updates should come out pretty regularly :) If you have any questions, feel free to ask!**

**Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!**


	2. Crash

**Thank you to babyvfan, Klata, Esperanza14, Marta (x2), .Executioner, Lovely Rain Dancer, arabella, RippahGoneWolf, InuGnome17, ILove2Write13, glevez25, Lord of Sin, EmmaRedVelvet, TeddyBee, jinx-inside, Klaus lover, Mel023, **_**Guest, **_**gleeislover, Marina, MoriartyandHisTardis, **_**Guest**_**, PsychVamp, ifancyklarolinexx, Sci-fi Christian, Skaiya McFee, **_**Guest,**_** sandiw1875, ANGELiCAWROTE, ApekshaStar, jessinicole, SweetyK, ForverInYourArms, EyesLikeLiquidFire, and Pem****for reviewing! Thanks for the great response everyone! And, of course, a special thank you to the wonderful and amazing carasedrin for coming up with ideas and beta'ing this for me :D**

**Ok guys, like all of my other stories, the first chapter acts as kind of a set up chapter for the rest of the story, so bear with me!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD**

Chapter One

Crash

_"Your head is running wild again, my dear we still have everything, and it's all in your mind. Yeah but this is happening."_

When Caroline Forbes had moved to the city six years earlier to get her university degree, wanting to become a registered nurse, she had never thought she would end up staying here in Richmond, getting a job at the hospital and eventually be one of their top employees.

She had _certainly_ never expected to end up breaking with her boyfriend and get knocked up a week later by a complete stranger.

But here she was, five months later.

At first Caroline had been unsure what to do, panicked. When she first picked up that pregnancy test and saw it was positive… a thousand thoughts had run through her mind. First was, of course, panic. And then denial. The test had to have been a fluke. So she tested herself again. And again. And again.

Positive. Positive. Positive.

So Caroline decided to suck up her pride and went to visit the doctor's office for confirmation.

Same answer.

Pregnant.

She spent the first week in a haze, completely detached. No one suspected a thing, but she had just been going through the motions. That is, until she was caught with morning sickness in the bathroom by one of her best friends, Bonnie Bennet.

* * *

"_Caroline?" Bonnie entered the female bathrooms when she heard retching. She knocked on the stall where the noise was coming from. "Are you okay in there?"_

"_Just fine." Caroline managed to get out, before another wave of nausea hit her. She had been hiding her 'illness' all week, trying to avoid the reason for it for as long as she could; seems like she couldn't do so anymore._

"_Okay, that's I'm coming, you've been acting off all week." Bonnie barged in, stopping in her tracks when she saw her friend crying over the toilet. She immediately crouched beside her, placing her hand on the blonde girl's back, worrying at her friend's pallid appearance._

"_Oh my God, Care, what's the matter?" She asked, concern lacing her voice._

_Caroline pulled back from the toilet, now just sitting next to it, uncaring of the unsanitary appearance of the bathroom. "Bonnie, I really messed up." She said as she hid her face in her hands, her voice clogged with an overflow of emotion._

"_What do you mean, messed up, what did you do?" The other girl asked in return, sitting beside the blonde._

_Caroline hesitated, unsure if she wanted to get into this. But she knew she couldn't hide this for much longer. "After Tyler… I, I went a little crazy and I went out for some fun…" She swallowed, throat suddenly dry as she sneaked a peek at her friend, suddenly intensely nervous as to how she would react. "I slept with some guy I didn't know, I just wanted to prove to Tyler that I wasn't who he said I was, that I wasn't some prude bitch, I never thought…" She trailed off, unable to go further, desperate tears filling her eyes._

"_What, Caroline? You're scaring me…" Bonnie said suddenly, sounding frustrated and even more worried than before._

_And then it burst out of Caroline. The truth she had wanted so much to ignore._

"_I'm pregnant, Bonnie!" She exclaimed. As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them and she buried her face deeper into her hands._

"_Oh." She felt her friend pull away from her, shock in her voice. "Oh…"_

"_Bonnie..?" Caroline asked, looking back to her friend who seemed like she was anywhere but here._

"_I, uh…" The brunette made to stand but her blonde friend couldn't bear to see her go, not now when she needed her, and grabbed her wrist._

"_Please, don't go Bon! I don't know what to do." Caroline said desperately. Bonnie hesitated for a moment, before nodding, and sitting back down, looking unsure but, much to Caroline's relief, sticking around._

"_Ok, ok, it's ok, I'll stay with you…"_

* * *

_Eventually Bonnie and Caroline made it back to Caroline's apartment, needing somewhere more private (as in, not in the bathrooms at work) to talk it all through. When they first arrived at her place, it had been quite awkward, as if neither girl knew where to start and what to say. Bonnie and her had always had somewhat of a rocky friendship, but Caroline still considered the girl to be one of her best friends. She just hoped this wouldn't change it._

"_What do you think you're going to do?" Bonnie asked at one point._

"_I don't know, Bon. I honestly don't know." And she really didn't. Keep it? Not keep it? Be a mother? Put it up for adoption? Caroline had no idea. It was like she was numb._

_Suddenly they heard the front doorknob turn and in walked none other than Stefan Salvatore, Caroline's other best friend. Though she and Bonnie had been friends since kindergarten, Stefan and her had a close bond since the minute they met in high school, after he and his brother Damon moved to Mystic Falls. He was now in his second year of medical school, and even interned at the same hospital where she and Bonnie worked. Stefan was the one she knew she could always depend on, and they often just dropped by each other's places to chat or hang out, both of them having a key._

"_Hey, are you guys ok?" Stefan asked, immediately sensing something was wrong as he kicked off his shoes. _

"_Hey, Stef." Caroline said, her voice barely a whisper. Normally she would greet him with a hug or even just a smile; today she did neither._

"_What's going on?" He asked, making his way to the couches and sitting down in one of them, shooting both girls curious glances._

_Caroline looked to Bonnie for help, who simply looked away, offering no helpful advice to her friend. Sighing, the blonde sat back and considered for a moment, before coming to a decision. She could never hide anything from Stefan, at least not for long, and she supposed it would be better if he heard it from her and not someone else. Besides, he always helped her when she trapped in a corner._

_Only, she feared this corner was far worse and much more complicated than any she had encountered before._

"_You're going to find out sooner or later." She said quietly after a moment, barely looking at him, too afraid that he would be ashamed of her when he found out. _

"_Find out what?"_

"_I... I..." Caroline stopped, her throat going dry. _Come on! Pull yourself together! You've already told one person today, what's two?

_It seemed that in the time that Caroline spent contemplating, Bonnie had finally decided to participate and took the decision from her. "She's pregnant." She intoned blandly._

"_Bonnie!" Caroline exclaimed, feeling a slight tick of annoyance, before immediately looking to Stefan, curious and terrified of what his reaction might be._

_For a moment, he was completely straight-faced, until finally he cracked a rare smile._

"_Oh haha, very funny, guys... " His smile died on his lips when he saw the looks on the two girls' faced. "…wait, you're not joking, are you?" Caroline's shake of her head was enough to confirm his question for him. Stefan opened and closed his mouth a few times, speechless "Wow..." He let out finally." Ok... wow, what are you going to do, Care?" He asked after he took a minute to collect himself, in true Stefan fashion, trying not to overreact. "Did you already tell Tyler?"_

_Caroline, who had been planning to stay calm just couldn't anymore, and stood up, storming upset to her room. _Of all the people he had to mention it just _had _to be Tyler, didn't it? _She tried to ignore the pit of guilt in her stomach._

"_Well done, Stefan." Bonnie said sarcastically._

"_What? What did I do?" He shot her a confused look._

_The brunette sighed, shaking her head. "It's not Tyler's."_

_Stefan stopped in his tracks. "It's not?" He asked, even more shocked at this news than the fact that his best friend was pregnant._

"_No, it happened right after they broke up, she needed to let loose and, well, here we are." Bonnie crossed her arms, a grim look on her face._

"_Is she sure it's not his?"_

"_Apparently." The way the brunette shrugged showed that she really wasn't sure _what_ she believed._

"_You have that look on your face, Bonnie." Stefan said admonishingly._

"_What look?"_

"_That disappointed look, she doesn't need that." Stefan didn't exactly approve of the whole one-night stand get pregnant scenario but he wasn't about to let that make him question Caroline and who she is. He certainly wouldn't judge her for it. _

"_Well, maybe she should have thought things through for once. It's like high school all over again." Bonnie said snipingly._

"_Don't say that. You know how much Caroline has grown since high school." Stefan replied, immediately coming to his friend's defense. Though he knew Bonnie only wanted the best for them, he also knew that sometimes she showed it in the wrong way._

_The brunette had a slight look of guilt about her for a second, but it soon disappeared and she stood up, grabbing her stuff. "I guess. I just, I don't know, I need time to think... Tell her I'll call her, ok?" Before Stefan could get a word in edgewise, Bonnie had already left._

_Stefan sighed to himself, hating to get in the middle of that kind of drama. He approached Caroline's bedroom door, knowing she probably needed some support, even if she didn't _want _it. He knocked loudly twice. "Caroline? Can I come in?" When he heard no answer, Stefan shrugged and entered anyways. "Hey."_

_Caroline didn't even glance his way, burying herself deeper in her bed. Stefan didn't push her anymore and instead sat by her side, waiting for her to open up to him._

"_Bonnie left, didn't she?" She asked, finally breaking their silence._

"_Yeah." He said honestly._

"_She thinks I'm pathetic, doesn't she?"_

_Stefan turned to Caroline, finding her looking back at him with sad eyes. "Of course not! You know Bonnie, she just needs some time to adjust." He reassured, placing a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder._

"_What am I going to do, Stefan? I can't be a mom! Half the time I can't even keep myself together." Caroline asked, sitting up panicked._

"_Hey, hey." She looked back at him. "Come here." Stefan pulled his friend into his arms. "No matter what happens, not matter what you choose to do, I will be there for you, ok? I promise you." _

_For the first time that day, Caroline smiled a little._

* * *

_A week after she dropped the big bombshell on her two best friends, Caroline found herself slowly beginning to accept the facts. Still, she kept the facts to herself from then on, not wanting to have another person look at her like she was crazy. So, she went to work, acted as if nothing was going on. _

_Caroline quickly filed away the rest of the paperwork she had just finished, her shift coming to an end. She was just pulling her hair out of her customary ponytail and grabbing her stuff when she ran into one of the few people who knew on her way out of the locker room._

"_Care." Bonnie greeted with a small smile, having arrived early for her own shift._

"_Hey Bonnie." Caroline replied emotionlessly, trying to get to the door. She loved Bonnie, but, honestly, she didn't want to deal with her right now._

"_How are you? How is everything?" Her friend asked, still blocking her way._

"_Good, good. I have a check up in a few minutes, gonna see if everything's ok with the little guy." The blonde hedged._

"_Oh, ok..." Bonnie had a rejected look on her face as she stepped aside to let the other girl through._

_Caroline hesitated. "Look, I have to get going, maybe we can talk later?" _

_Her friend smiled brightly. "Yeah, later..." Nodding, the blonde made to leave, but turned back around when Bonnie called out to her. "Wait, Caroline! Do you want some company? It must be hard, doing all of this alone."_

_Caroline's cool demeanor cracked, anger surfacing. It's not like she _wanted_ to do this alone! Caroline had searched for the last seven days for Klaus, knowing that he should have a say in it, even if she didn't know _him_. This wasn't just her baby (it took two to tango after all) and she had just wanted to get some help from someone else. But, it had all been in vain and she just couldn't find him. Heck, she didn't even know his last name! _

_But, as much as she had wanted to let him know about the baby and maybe have him help out, what she had wanted more that entire time was the support of her friends._

"_Yeah it is, I could've, you know, used you there." Caroline replied, crossing her arms, ready for a confrontation._

_But Bonnie didn't react angrily like she had thought she would. Instead, she immediately looked guilty. "I'm really sorry, Care, I don't what was wrong with me, I never should have done what I did. I wasn't a very good friend..." Bonnie looked away._

_Caroline sighed, her anger dissipating somewhat. "No, you weren't... but we've been best friends since kindergarten, and I don't like this distance between us."_

"_Me neither." Bonnie admitted._

"_Look, we've always done everything together. We went through elementary, middle, and high school together. We went to the same college, got the same degree. We even work at the same hospital! Can't you just to do this with me? I really need you." Caroline found herself rambling as she explained what she felt to her friend._

"_I know that now, and I am really sorry." Bonnie reached out and grabbed her best friend's hand. "From now on, I'll be here for you, whatever you need."_

_Caroline squeezed her hand gratefully, before cracking a huge smile. "Then apology accepted. But, anyways, I really do have to go now, I can't be late for this…" _

"_Well, would you like some company? I still have time before my shift starts." Bonnie smiled as well. _

_Caroline froze, her own grin widening even more. "I would _love_ some company…" They made their way out of the locker room together. "Hey, maybe we can convince the doctor that this _our _baby…" _

_As they joked and laughed, Caroline could not keep the happiness off her face, glad that she now had two of the most important people in her life at her back._

* * *

_The first two months of her pregnancy, Stefan was her rock. He was always ready to talk with her, but didn't push her to make a decision either. And when Bonnie came around as well, she and Stefan managed to keep Caroline sane enough to make it through. _

_She was still undecided with what she would do with the baby, however._

_But, the longer she hesitated in what to do, the more she realized that she had already known all along. Every time she thought about abortion, her heart would clench and she decided she wouldn't go through with it._

_Caroline knew what it was now. She was already beginning to love her baby._

_As soon as she realized this, she picked up her phone and dialed Stefan's number. She didn't even wait for his greeting to speak._

"_I've decided to keep it." She announced strongly. After a few seconds of silence, she decided to try and elaborate. "I don't know, it just wouldn't feel right to get rid of my baby."_

"_That's great, Care." Stefan finally replied, his voice sincere._

_Caroline smiled, grateful. "Thank you, Stefan. Thank you... for everything."_

"_You're welcome."_

_She hung up a moment later, and began dialing Bonnie's number._

* * *

_When she was nearing the end of her first trimester, Caroline decided it might be time to inform her supervisor that she was pregnant. In the last few weeks, there had been rumors circling that she might get a promotion and she didn't want to jeopardize that by keeping something from her boss. _

"_Caroline, if you could come with me, now, there was something you wanted to tell me?" Said boss commanded, pulling her aside. Once they were alone, she gestured for her to go on and start talking. Caroline immediately did as she was told; Rhonda Danner was not a woman you wanted to mess with. She was a tough older lady, with strict views on the world, including things like abstinence and being single and pregnant. She was also one of the few nurses in the hospital that insisted on being called _'Nurse' _Danner, and not just by her first name. _

"_Yes, Nurse Danner, I would just like to inform you that I am..." Caroline swallowed, shifting nervously from foot to foot. "…pregnant."_

_Her boss finally looked away from the paperwork she had been focusing on, surprised eyes on Caroline's form, a certain severity in her expression._

"_Ah, I see." She said only a moment later. "Well, I suppose you are keeping the child?"_

_If anyone else had asked her that question like _that_, Caroline might have punched them in the face but, as it was, Rhonda Danner was her boss and now, of all times, was not the time to get fired._

"_Yes, of course." The blonde replied stiffly._

_Nurse Danner nodded. "Alright, thank you for coming in and telling me this." She said coolly, as if she heard news like this everyday, though Caroline could see her disapproval in the way she clenched her mouth, the way she looked at her. "You and I will have to have a sit down later and work out the finer details, maternity leave and the like."_

_Well, Caroline knew a dismissal when she heard one. _

"_Thank you." She said, before running fast out the door._

_A week later the rumors about her getting promoted died, instead replaced with awful gossip about her and her 'activities.' It was the first time Caroline began to regret her decision, just the tiniest bit. _

_She began to regret and resent the whole situation somewhat more when Bonnie ended up getting the promotion._

* * *

_It was around that same time that Caroline finally gathered enough courage to ask her mom to come and visit her. It had only been her and her mom for a while now, her father having passed away from cancer while she was still in high school. He was actually part of the reason Caroline had decided to become a nurse in the first place. In his last few months, her dad had been confined to a hospital bed, and in that time, it wasn't his doctor that took care of her dad, but the nurses. It was then that Caroline put away her girlish dreams of princesses and celebrities and decided on a more mature dream._

_Anyways, ever since Caroline's dad had died, her and her mom's relationship grew more and more complicated, and strained. But Caroline knew she needed Liz in this._

"_Are you sure you want to do this, Caroline? Being a parent is a lot of responsibility. It won't be just you anymore." Said mom asked, sitting across from her, looking pale and worried._

"_Believe me, Mom, I know." The younger Forbes woman replied, a slight tinge of annoyance in her voice; this was not the first time they had this conversation._

"_I'm just worried about you." Liz admitted._

"_I know you are, but I think I can do this. I really do. Can't you just believe in me? I want my child to know you, I want you to be a part of his or her life. He or she is going to need at least one grandparent." _

_Her mom looked surprised by her daughter's onslaught of maturity and, in only a moment, a proud smile crept across her face. She reached out and took her daughter's hand._

"_Ok, ok. You know what, Caroline?" She asked, still smiling._

"_What?"_

"_I think you are going to be a _great _mom."_

_Caroline hugged her own mom more fiercely than she had in a long time._

* * *

Caroline was pulled out of her thoughts by a sudden knock on her door. She was in the middle of her fifth month of pregnancy and so far everything has been going ok. Her life certainly wasn't perfect, but it wasn't horrible either. But, she supposed, the same could be said for a lot of other people.

As the knocking stopped, Stefan popped his head in the doorway.

"Come on, Care! You have to go out and have some fun." He commanded. For the last three days, he had been pestering her to go out more, saying she needed to have fun while she still had time. Caroline sighed, getting up; knowing the only way to get him to stop his pestering was to give in.

"Fine, I'll go with you, Stef. But you're buying, okay?" She said as she stood up, grabbing her stuff and heading to the door.

"Fair enough." They made their way together to his car. Normally, Bonnie would go along with them, but she was really busy lately, with her promotion at the hospital and all. Caroline didn't bother to disturb her.

"Just to warn you, I eat like a cow… probably because I'm the size of one." Caroline joked sardonically, causing her friend let out a chuckle. "Not funny, Stefan Salvatore." She glared as she buckled in.

"Ok, ok." He replied, hands up in surrender.

At this, Caroline immediately started laughing.

"God, these freaking hormones! I swear I feel like I'm on crack or something." She said and only a few seconds later, they both broke out into laughs once again.

They made their way to their usual place, a nice little bar/grill that reminded them both of their hometown. They were seated without a problem soon enough, and Caroline found she was enjoying herself only moments later, glad to have some time with her best friend, having missed him when he went on his visit to Mystic Falls last week.

"So how is everyone back home?" She asked at one point, enjoying the copious amount of foods the waitress had given her.

"Good, good." Stefan hesitated. "Damon and Elena have moved in together." He admitted finally.

Caroline winced, knowing that the relationship his brother had going with his ex was still kind of a sore subject. "Ouch, sorry, that must suck." She sympathized.

Stefan shrugged. "No, I've been over it a long time. Don't worry, Care, I'm good. I should be asking about you, how are you? And how is my future godson, or daughter?"

"Kicking up a fury. I'm just happy the morning sickness part is over." Caroline laughed, placing a hand lovingly over her swollen belly, smiling. The evening continued pleasantly, until finally she decided she needed to go home, tired from such a long day.

As they headed towards the exit, Caroline froze, thinking she spotted someone _very_ familiar. But in the next instant, he was gone.

"Hey Caroline, what is it?" Stefan asked, concerned by her sudden space-out.

"N-Nothing." She replied, before shooting him a smile.

"Ok then, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." _I just want to get out of here_.

"Ok, just stick around here for a bit, I'll go get the car." Caroline nodded and off Stefan went. In the meantime, she went to stand by the bar, deciding to avoid the cold November air as much as possible. She ignored the people around, especially the woman next to her, who was practically throwing herself at some guy. _Wasn't that me five months ago? _Caroline found herself wondering.

Suddenly someone very large bumped into her, causing her stumble away from the counter and almost fall. Luckily, a hand grabbed her elbow to keep her upright. _This must be the guy that girl has been hanging all over. _

"Hey, watch it!" Caroline exclaimed, pulling her arm away from the guy. _You'd think people would be more careful when you're a baby carrying machine, but NO… _

She was about to hit the guy with her killer glare when she heard his voice from above her head. "Sorry, love, didn't see you there."

_Wait a second… I know that voice…. _Caroline whipped her head up and froze when she recognized whom she saw.

"Um... Oh my God..." She stuttered out, her eyes wide. _Oh, this cannot be happening. Holy crap…_

"Hold on..." The man in front of her furrowed his brow.

"Klaus?" She asked bewilderedly.

"Caroline." He said at the exact same time, smirking down at her now. Caroline stayed silent, her face going completely pale. "How have you been, sweetheart?" He started, beginning to eye her up… "It really has been too long, almost-" … and down. Klaus froze when his eyes came to her obviously pregnant belly. When he looked back at her, his eyes were full of confusion, shock, disbelief and a million different things.

"Five months." Caroline finished his statement quietly.

She couldn't believe it. Klaus was _here_. She had spent weeks searching him out after she discovered nature's little surprise for her, but had never managed to find him. He had moved out his place shortly after their little… tryst and he hadn't left a forwarding address with the landlord.

And now he was _here_.

With another woman.

**Ok, guys, that's it for this time :D Next update should be up on next Saturday, latest :D Just a few notes, as you can probably tell Elena and Damon aren't going to play a particularly huge part in this story, simply because I couldn't find a way to make it work without overcrowding it. Also, about the whole Caroline-Bonnie fight. I put that in because, in the series, Bonnie is usually the one who is quickest to judge (i.e. when Caroline turned into a vampire) but she is also always there when it counts. I really want to show that because it is in important part to both characters :) **

**I realize there wasn't much Klaus in this installment, but, don't worry, there will LOTS of Klaus next chapter!**

**Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!**

**RW**


	3. Shout

**Thank you to babyvfan, The Hunger Games-My Life, PainfullyShy, ilovetvd (x2), Epitomeofme, and the tree was happy, Sunfiresarah, whisperslove, HelloCutePanda, ANGELiCAWROTE, walkinthegardengnome, AJPunkForever, bamaccolamorgan, Klata, lanibapt, SweetyK, Hellsleprechaun, Hazel21, Esperanza14, Random Reader, Christobel, **_**Guest,**_** Marta, LadyKlaus, batgirl2992, jessinicole, ILove2Write13, Draco-Harry-Lover-1, Lord of Sin, lily94, InuGnome17, sandiw1897, Aaaammber, Jwakeel, Lovely Rain Dancer, kacomu, gleeislove, EmmaRedVelvet, glevez25, PsychVamp, carasedrin (x2), ApekshaStar, MarsterRoo, Ella marelica, and ForeverInYourArms for reviewing!**

**And, of course, thank you to the wonderful carasedrin for her wonderful asistence with this story and her patience with me :)**

**Hope you forgive me for this being two days late!**

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own TVD.**

Chapter Two

Shout

"_I need another story, something took it off my chest. My life is kind of boring, need something that I can confess."_

Caroline's heart was beating a mile a minute as she faced him, faced Klaus. Her emotions were going completely haywire, varying from fury to nervousness. _How the hell is this even happening? He was supposed to be gone but here he is, with some girl hanging all over him…_ Her eyes narrowed as stared at the girl. She was pretty, Caroline would give her that, with smooth dark skin and thick, curly black hair.

And she was practically drooling all over Klaus. _Please don't tell me I was that pathetic five months ago._ For some reason the sight of the girl made Caroline inexplicably angry. _Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the father of my child is apparently a man-whore._

Her annoyed thoughts were interrupted when said man spoke. "Five months?" Klaus repeated, his voice sounding strained. "That's-" He stopped suddenly, before gesturing to her swollen belly. "You're pregnant." He stated abruptly, as if needing to make sure that he really was seeing what he was seeing.

Caroline almost felt pity for him as she nodded her confirmation.

"Well… What… How?" She could practically _see_ him trying to formulate his question.

"Who's your little friend, Klaus?" The girl he had with him suddenly interrupted them, sneering as she leaned possessively against Klaus from behind him, sending a fierce glare at Caroline as she did so. At this point, Klaus seemed to finally compose himself, and soon enough his smirk was back on, though Caroline could tell it was strained at best.

"Greta… This is Caroline." He said. Caroline was about to do the polite thing and say '_hello_' even though she really, _really_ didn't want to when Greta turned away from her, completely ignoring her.

"Can we go? I'm bored." Greta's voice was unbearably high pitched as she whined at Klaus. Immediately, Caroline felt her anger rise. _Okay, it's official; I've already had enough of this bitch._

"Let me guess? A new flame for the night?" She said, directing the question at Klaus and smiling slightly at Greta's offended look.

Even Klaus himself wore a slightly amused look at the scene unfolding before him; for some reason his grin only made Caroline angrier and she wanted nothing more than to wipe it off his face. "Greta, why don't you go get us some more drinks so I can have a moment with Caroline here?" He kept his eyes on Caroline as he said this, much to Greta's displeasure.

"Whatever." The girl groused, turning away and going to the bartender.

"Now, now, love, don't be jealous." Klaus told Caroline with a smirk as soon Greta had stepped away.

"Jealous? Yeah, _right_. Don't flatter yourself." The blonde snorted, her voice full of sarcasm as she spoke. _Really? _

"Well, what put _you_ in a mood? Is it the hormones?" He replied condescendingly, eyes narrowed as the amusement dropped from his tone.

"And _whose_ fault is that, do you think?" She hissed back, suddenly furious. _What is his problem? I'm pregnant, not useless…_ _And, _he's _the one that caused this in the first place…. God, what did I even see in him? _

Her reply caused Klaus to pause, suspicion clear in his expression. "What are you talking about, Caroline?" He asked evenly, fist clenching at his side as his eyes burned into hers. For a moment, Caroline wasn't sure she should answer, wasn't sure she _could_ answer, but of course her big mouth got the best of her.

"I'd think it's pretty obvious." She said, sarcasm once again ringing in her tone.

"Obvious? Not sure I follow, sweetheart. I don't see what your being pregnant has to do…" Horrible realization entered his face as he suddenly stopped mid sentence. "How far along are you?" He asked after a minute, his voice taught with tension.

_Well, it's now or never. _"Around about _five months_." Caroline replied, basically confirming his fears. She crossed her arms over her chest as the air around them suddenly became a thousand times more unpleasant.

Abruptly, Klaus let out a dark chuckle, his face splitting into a wide smile. It wasn't the happy kind of smile though, in fact, if she was being honest with herself, it looked rather sinister. "You're kidding. This is a joke." He said, sneering at her. "Nice try, but this can't be true."

"Do I really _look_ like I'm joking?"

"So what are you trying to say? That it's mine?" He laughed again. "I don't think so." Klaus leaned in closer to her until their faces were inches apart and spoke lowly. "Careful there, sweetheart, don't forget it was _you_ who jumped _me_ that night. I wouldn't be too quick to take the high horse… after all, it wouldn't be surprising if I wasn't your only little _tryst_ that week." He smirked coldly. "Just look at how _easily_ you spread your legs for me."

Caroline saw red and shoved him away from her, _hard_. She was practically vibrating with anger. _How the hell does he think he has the right to talk about me like that?_

"You don't know _anything _about me." She hissed, getting right in his face before stepping back again. She took a deep breath. "You know what? Fine. Don't believe me, what do I care?" Her eyes were narrowed into a fierce glare as she continued to speak. "I never even wanted _anything_ to do with you in the first place. But, hey, I thought I should tell you because that's the kind of person I am. The kind of person who is _honest_." _Not the kind you want to think I am, you dick._

Klaus scoffed, his eyes still on hers as his gaze darkened with anger. "If you really wanted to tell me, you would have looked for me before."

"Don't you think I tried?" Her indignant shout caused a few heads to turn and stare at them. "I couldn't _find_ you, you ass. I don't even know why I _looked_ for you in the first place! I don't want _anything_ to do with you, and I don't want you in our lives, either." She punctuated each sentence by getting closer and closer.

"Well, the feeling's mutual, sweetheart." Klaus replied, growling down at her.

Caroline finally had enough and stepped back, grabbing her purse and getting ready to go, her emotions almost spinning out of control by now. _I've had enough. I don't need this shit. _"God, that's it, I'm out of here." She threw her hands up as said this, the frustration of it all too much for her. "Have a nice life and good riddance." She hissed at Klaus. Just as she turned to go, she saw Stefan approaching them, having just gone to get the car.

"Hey, you ready to go?" He said as he reached her. Stefan, being as perceptive as he was, immediately noticed the tension between the two of them. "Who's this?" He asked, hostilely, instantly putting a protective hand on Caroline's shoulder, sensing that Klaus was up to no good with her.

"No one important." Caroline replied, delivering her last blow to him. She turned away from Klaus and faced Stefan, wanting to nothing more than to get the hell out of there. "Come one, let's just go."

As she walked to the door with Stefan following close behind, Caroline could feel Klaus' eyes burning into her back all the way.

* * *

The drive back to Caroline's apartment building was made in tense silence. She felt Stefan's eyes continually shifting to look at her, concerned, but she couldn't bring herself to reassure him. She was barely keeping it together as it was, so full emotion; she was just so _furious. _How could Klaus _dare_ to imply that she was some girl who slept around with random strangers all the time? _Klaus_ was the only guy she had ever done that with! And, like he was one to talk, he was clearly a no good womanizer and she was ashamed she ever had anything to do with him.

But underneath all of her anger, she couldn't help but be hurt by his words. When she went looking for him, but didn't find him, she had stopped searching (after all, the guy had moved out of his place and she wasn't about to hire a private investigator). At the time she told herself that she really tried, that she did her best but, truth is, she had given up so soon because she really _didn't_ want to find him. Because finding him would have made the situation all real. And she was afraid that he would've reacted exactly the way he just had. And it hurt her. Even though she really wanted to deny it, it _hurt_ her. Even though his opinion really shouldn't matter to her, it did.

_It's like it's Tyler all over again._

_Why am I so pathetic? He doesn't matter. He doesn't. So stop thinking about it. You won't have to deal with him again. It's done._

Finally, Stefan pulled the car in front of her apartment building, and Caroline attempted to make her escape as quickly as possible, out of the car in record time. Stefan followed her lead, though, stepping out, and calling to her as she made her way to the steps that lead to the front door.

"Care!" The blonde turned reluctantly to face her friend. "Are you sure you're okay? Who was that?" For a moment, Caroline considered just saying 'no one' again but she knew she couldn't keep it to herself for long, especially not from Stefan. Besides, he always had fortune cookie advice at the ready, so he might be able to help her, right?

"That-" She hesitated before taking a deep breath and trying again. "That was Klaus." She said firmly.

Stefan immediately looked shocked. "Klaus as in…?" Caroline nodded. "Oh, okay… wow." He was silent for a moment, clearly still processing, until he looked back at her. "So, I guess he didn't take the news well, huh?" He ventured.

Caroline snorted. "Understatement."

"I'm sorry." Stefan replied, not believing her aloof demeanor for a second.

"It doesn't matter, Stefan." She shrugged, trying to keep her emotions in check. "I don't need or want him around anyways. We're better off without him." She moved her hand so that it was resting on her swollen stomach.

"Alright…" Stefan replied, his tone slightly doubtful.

"What?" Caroline asked in return, with a slight eye roll.

"I don't know, Care." He shrugged. "Far be it from me to defend him, but you did kind of drop a big bomb on him, you can't expect him to just accept it right away. The guy barely knows you…" He reasoned, trying to see the bright side as usual.

Caroline sighed. "Look, I was willing to give him a chance, even though I really didn't want to, I knew I couldn't just keep it from him; I mean, what kind of mother would I be if I purposely kept my baby from having a father?" She paused for a moment, trying to keep herself calm and failing miserably. "But he just… ugh! I mean, the nerve he had to basically call me a slut? I am done with him. I don't _ever_ want to see him again." She was ashamed to feel the telltale prickle of tears in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around herself.

Stefan looked at her sadly, waiting for her let out her real feelings about the whole situation.

"Does that make me a horrible, shallow person?" She asked after a moment, shaking a little as her breath hitched. "Am I going to be an even worse mom?" Suddenly the tears began spilling down her cheeks. Stefan immediately walked forward and pulled his friend into his arms.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's okay." He told her quietly, his tone soothing. Caroline wrapped herself tighter in his embrace, needing the comfort. "Of course it doesn't mean that. You're Caroline, you're the best person I know and you are going to be a great mom, okay?" As he said the last part he pulled back and smiled down at her.

She found her own lips turning up in response, her tears already beginning to slow. "Thanks, Stef." She whispered, reaching forward to give his hand a squeeze. "This baby is going to be lucky to have you as an uncle." She told him sincerely.

"Of course." He replied with a smirk causing Caroline's small smile to widen the tiniest bit more.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She said before pulling away completely and once again heading to the apartment building.

"Okay, but take care of yourself."

Caroline had to roll her eyes at that. "It's only one night, Stef, I'll be fine."

"If you're sure…" He got back into his car, and with a final wave at her, left, driving calmly off.

The blonde sighed to herself as she made it up the final steps to the apartment building and unlocked the front door, heading immediately to the elevator.

As soon as Caroline was up into her apartment, she found her mind drifting traitorously back to Klaus. And she wondered, _if I am so done with him, why can't I stop thinking about him?_

* * *

The tires on Klaus' car squealed as he brought it to an abrupt stop in his driveway. Angrily, he got out and headed to the front door of his large mansion-like house, slamming it roughly shut as he went inside. He immediately headed to his fully stocked bar, grabbing a whole bottle of whiskey and taking a generous gulp.

With sudden fury, he slammed his fist down on the bar top so hard that the bottle actually moved a bit. He barely noticed the pain radiating from his hand and up his arm.

_She actually thought that she could fool _me_? What an imbecile. _Klaus leaned heavily on the bar, taking another swig of his whiskey as his mind continue to swirl with dark thoughts. _That bitch ruined my entire evening._

No one would say that Klaus Mikaelson was a man who was easily swept to the side. But, that is _exactly_ what Caroline did to him tonight. She had somehow gained the upper hand and had had the last word. He told himself that _that_ was why he was so annoyed, so full of emotion, and not for any other reason…

Certainly not because of her crazy accusations… _Why do I always get the crazy women?_

_Well tonight I didn't even get any woman_, Klaus thought, having just realized that he probably left Greta standing alone at the bar, waiting for him. For some reason, Klaus found that he couldn't care less.

His mind was solely focused on one woman tonight.

Caroline. He didn't even know her last name, he realized.

Not that he cared.

Still, it had been quite a shock to see her again, this woman that had plagued his thoughts for _months_. Because she _had_. After their night together, Klaus just couldn't seem to get her out of his mind. There had just been _something _about her. When he had woken up the next morning to find her gone, with nothing for him to be reminded of her but his memory… Klaus wasn't quite sure to explain how he had felt.

At the time, he remembered wishing that he had asked for Caroline's number – which was something he didn't often ask of from any woman. Klaus didn't do relationships, he just didn't. Too much emotional baggage.

He had known since he was old enough that he would lead the bachelor life. And that is exactly what he had done. The longest relationship he had ever had with a woman had been a month long, and that had ended in misery for them both.

Klaus was better off on his own, _that_ he was sure of. So, even though he had regretted not having Caroline's number, this woman that left him curious for more, he didn't even attempt to find her again, knowing it was probably for the best.

He instead went on with his new life here in Richmond, finally moving out of his interim apartment and into his house after construction finished. He had only moved to the States a few months before he had met Caroline, deciding to leave England and put an ocean between him and his father. He ended up moving to Virginia because he had found a few good business opportunities, and his company had a branch there.

He probably could have moved anywhere in America but he had wanted to move somewhere where he wouldn't be easily found by his _beloved_ father, and who would expect to find Niklaus Mikaelson in Virginia of all places? So, here he was.

Luckily, Klaus' company ran smoothly even though it was now headquartered here. His business not particularly huge, it's main function being the acquirement of obscure art and reselling it to various galleries around the world, but it did bring in a very large income. Still, much as he liked his day job, it was not all he spent his time on. So, since arriving here, he had also opened a bar, something he had always dreamed of doing.

Now, he spent most nights in _Originals_, his very own club/bar.

But, despite it all, his thoughts still often drifted to Caroline. The way she had moved against him, _under_ him, above him. It annoyed him more than anything at first. Klaus did _not_ dwell on old flames; it simply wasn't done. Yet there he was, doing exactly that.

And then he ran into her. He had been foolishly excited in the beginning, seeing her like that. It was pure coincidence that he had even run into her. Tonight had been the first time in months he had gone somewhere other than his bar (by the request of Greta) and he couldn't _believe_ his luck.

And then he saw she was pregnant. And everything changed.

Caroline told him that the baby was his. _But it's impossible, just impossible. The child couldn't _possibly_ be mine…_ He had gotten blindingly angry at the mere thought of it. How did she think she had the right to tell him something like that and think he would actually _believe _it? So, Klaus did what he did best. He had lashed out in a harsh way.

He had thought at first that that would be enough to make Caroline back off, but she surprised him by staying strong and fighting him right back. It had greatly frustrated him at the time but now as he calmed down a bit from the encounter, he felt a grudging respect for her. There were not many people who dared to talk to him like that, but Caroline had done it without any qualms.

It was shocking, in all honesty, that this woman that had been in his thoughts for all that time, suddenly appeared and made wild accusations at him. So, he went straight to the most likely truth; the kid was someone else's. After all, Caroline also hadn't had any qualms jumping him that night, a guy she barely knew, why not some other poor unsuspecting man? (For some reason that made Klaus' chest fill with an unfamiliar feeling.)

_The baby can't be mine. It can't. _But the way Caroline had looked at him, her eyes had been so alarmingly _honest_. And, Klaus couldn't help but to let her words begin to get to him, no matter how much he wanted to push it away and deny it.

_What if… What if this child really is mine?_ _Is it… is it possible?_

_Even if it is, he or she will be much better off without me; I would be a horrible father._

But a part of Klaus felt suddenly guilty, that part that was hidden deep inside, underneath his rough outer exterior. _If this is really my baby, can I go on knowing that abandoned it before it was even born? Wouldn't that make me an even worse father?_

_Maybe, maybe I can be a better father to him or her than Mikael was… Maybe I can learn from his mistakes…_

_Every child deserves to have a father… right?_

Klaus could barely believe the way his thoughts were going. _What am I even doing? This isn't even real._

But, the thoughts wouldn't leave his mind. Even the _possibility_ was too much for him. He needed to know, he needed to know the truth… and, after that, well, he would deal with it, one way or another.

Suddenly, Klaus had his mind made up, and he reached into his pocket for his cell phone. He dialed in the appropriate number and waited impatiently for the phone to be picked up.

Finally, he heard a stiff greeting. "Hello."

"Maddox, I need you to do something, mate. Can you track someone down for me?" Klaus smirked as heard the man's reply. "_Fantastic_."

_I need to know if this child is mine, even if his mother most likely hates me now._

**That's it for now, my lovelies :) I will see you all with the next installment sometime this weekend! (I think it's going to be a good one!) I can't believe this story has been getting such a great response! :D**

**Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!**

**RW**


	4. Breathe

**Thank you to TheMiseducationofB, Alisha, Someone, KRISTINE.W, linda, chillwithJyl, shadyvale1963, Esperanza14, Arabella, peytonplace78613, sandicus, Psyc0gurl0, The Hunger Games-My Life, gleeislove, **_**Guest**_**, Ellavm18, ANGELiCAWROTE, ApekshaStar, walkinthegardengnome, sarahberah1121, Sunfiresarah, EmaleeKaye, Lovely Rain Dancer, Pagan-Angel13, HeroSavesPeople, klauslove, babyvfan, jessinicole, ILove2Write13, InuGnome17, ForverInYourArms, ilovetvd, **_**Guest**_**, RippahGoneWolf, HelloCutePanda, carasedrin, Marta, Draco-Harry-Lover1, glevez25, SweetyK, MarsterRoo, EmmaRedVelvet, Riah2386, KlarolineKisses, Ela marelica and Aaaammber for reviewing!**

**And, as usual, special thanks to carasedrin for being awesome :)**

**Wow, I truly suck at updating when I say I will – My deepest apologies!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own TVD!**

Chapter Three

Breathe

"_Tell me what you want to hear. Something that will light those ears. Sick of all the insincere. So I'm gonna give all my secrets away."_

"So, let me get this straight, Care. You went up to this guy, the _father_ of your child, and told him right there and then that he was the baby daddy." Bonnie looked at Caroline with an incredulous expression as they browsed through the maternity store. Caroline had once again outgrown (well more like expanded horizontally out of) her good clothes and had decided that she and Bon were long overdue for a shopping trip.

Caroline winced at her friend's words. "Well, when you put it like _that_…" Of course, she hadn't expected that her relaxing shopping trip would end up being a full on interrogation on the event's that happened a week ago…. With Klaus…

"Hey! I'm only saying it how I see it!" Bonnie defended before giving the blonde a pointed look, disapproval written all over her features.

"Okay, I will admit it was not my finest moment, but, in my defense I am a mess of hormones right now…" Her friend sent her a disbelieving look, "…and he just made me so _angry_." Caroline admitted before huffing with annoyance. "Look, can we just change the subject, _please_? Stefan already gave me this talk."

The brunette just shrugged, that disapproving look still in her eyes even as she began talking about something else. "Fine, fine. Did you hear about Elena?"

"What, about her and Damon moving in together?" _Of course I did… but… Stefan told me…_ "Did she tell you?" The blonde asked, trying to act casual and as if it didn't matter whether Elena did or not. _Not like we used to be close or anything._

"Yeah, she did. She sounds super excited." Bonnie answered with a smile; though the brunette hadn't approved of Damon in the beginning, she had soon come around and supported Elena.

Caroline on the other hand…

"I bet she does." She groused. "Why didn't she call me?"

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that one of your best friend's is her ex boyfriend and her current boyfriend's brother." The brunette replied matter-of-factly, causing the blonde to wince once.

"Yeah, I see your point. But we used to be so close… I wish she wouldn't shut me out." She sighed, looking pointedly away, rifling through the extensive racks of clothes.

"You know Elena. It takes time."

_Yeah, I know Elena, that's the whole problem. She might just decide she has had enough of Damon tomorrow and go back to Stefan… and Stef won't be able to resist her…_

Don't get her wrong, Caroline loved Elena like a sister, but she couldn't approve of the way she played with other's emotions, even if not on purpose. But then again, she supposed all Gilbert women were like that. Goodness knows her twin sister Katherine was similar in that way, though a lot sassier. It had been a while since she had seen Katherine Gilbert and, in all honesty, Caroline really missed her. She may seem like a crazy, psychotic bitch to most people but she was _Caroline's_ crazy, psychotic bitch of a friend. Katherine and Caroline had always been closer than the blonde was with the other Gilbert twin (though the opposite was true with Bonnie). In part it was because Kat took shit from no one, which was something the younger girl admired about her, since for so long she had just let people get to her.

"Oh my god, look Care! That's so adorable!" Bonnie interrupted her thoughts as she held up a tiny, baby-sized witch costume for Caroline to see. The brunette looked at it with admiring eyes and her friend had to hold back a large smile at the excitement the usually more reserved Bennet was showing.

"I don't even if it's a girl, Bon." She shook her head with a grin.

"Well, don't you _want_ to know?"

Caroline found herself frowning at the question as she took the tiny witch costume from Bonnie's hands and held it in her own. "Of course I want to know but… I just guess I feel like, if I don't know I won't psych myself out too much." She hung it back up on the rack.

"What do you mean?" The brunette looked at her friend with curiosity, not understanding why she wouldn't want to know her baby's gender.

"I'm already so worried about this, Bonnie, you have no idea. I'm going to be a _mom_." She sighed, placing her hands on the swell of her stomach, deep in thought. _It's scarier than I though it would be._ "I just don't know if I can deal right now with knowing if I'll have a son or daughter. The minute I know it will all become so real, I'll begin planning my baby's entire future before he or she is even born!" She shook her head, frustration clear in her voice. "I just…" Caroline hesitated, before looking up to meet Bonnie's eyes. "I want this baby, I _do_. And I'm afraid that I'll convince myself that it's best to give my baby away if I know." _Because if I know, I will know how many ways I will probably screw this baby up… _"I know it's stupid and irrational but I can't help it…"

She was surprised when she felt another hand on her clenched one. She looked to her friend, finding the brunette smiling understandingly back at her. "It's not stupid, Caroline. Not this time."

"Thanks Bonnie."

Bonnie only nodded in return and they both went back to browsing. Caroline found she couldn't focus. This whole trip was supposed to get her mind off things, not bring them to forefront. _I don't know if I'm ready for this. I mean, will I even be a good mom?_

There was one thing Caroline knew for sure though. She had no choice but to be a mother to her child.

Her baby didn't have another parent after all.

Not one that counted anyways.

* * *

As their little shopping excursion began to wind down, Caroline and Bonnie found themselves sitting on one of the many public benches, both holding a fresh bagel from the nearby vendor. They had finally managed to steer their conversation away from the baby and all things pregnancy and instead moved onto something they both loved to talk about.

Men.

Well, specifically, Bonnie's new mystery man. So far, Caroline had been unable to get the answer out of her friend but she would get there; she always did.

"Ok, I have to go, my shift starts soon." Bonnie said as she stood, shouldering her purse and grabbing her share of shopping bags.

Caroline raised a brow, a knowing look on her face. "_Please_, you're just avoiding telling me."

"Yeah, you caught me…" Bonnie laughed, turning away. Just as it seemed she was about to walk away, her eyes narrowed and she froze for a second. Abruptly, she turned back to Caroline. "Hey, isn't that...?" She began, pointing to someone out in the distance.

The blonde focused on the person that Bonnie was gesturing to and nearly had a heart attack, freezing in sudden shock when she saw who it was.

"Tyler." Caroline breathed out. _Shit. _She immediately pulled her shopping bags into her lap, as if that would help hide her. Of course it just _had_ to be her luck to run into her ex-boyfriend. _Damn it. Why now of all times?_

"Um, Care?" Bonnie asked, sounding surprisingly unsure. "He's coming over here."

"Crap, crap." She hissed, trying to think of some way to get out of there, even though she knew it was too late. _Shit, shit, shit!_

"What are you going to do?" The brunette asked, shifting her gaze back to Tyler as he got closer and closer, his eyes firmly on Caroline.

_Great. Now I have no choice._

She sighed heavily, resigned to her fate. "I guess I'll just have to talk to him." She muttered.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, he saw me didn't he?" _Why couldn't he have worse eyesight? God, what am I? A magnet for unwanted confrontations?_

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Bonnie asked her, concerned.

"No, I think I need to do this one alone." Caroline found herself rejecting her friend's offer, even though she really, _really_ didn't want to. _I need to do by myself._ "I'll be fine, I promise. Besides, you should get going before you miss your shift."

"Okay, call me if you need anything." The Bennet girl still looked wary but, despite her misgivings, began walking away, feeling this was something best done without her presence.

"I will." The blonde nodded, sending her friend a completely fake smile in hopes of stopping her worrying and waving her goodbye.

"Caroline!" _Well here goes. _Taking a deep breath to prepare herself, she greeted her ex-boyfriend with a small smile, the rest of her face an emotionless mask.

"Tyler." She nodded, still partially hidden under all her bags.

"Long time." He said after a long moment, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Yeah it was." She replied quietly. As their conversation grew idle again, Caroline took the opportunity to examine him. Tyler Lockwood looked the same as always, of medium height, well muscled and with thick dark hair. He still had that cocky rich boy sort of look, a remnant of who he had been in high school. Ever since their breakup, Caroline had been avoiding him at all costs, even as he tried to reopen a connection with her. He called her and texted her but she ignored him; eventually, all the messages stopped so she had thought that he finally moved on from the whole thing.

_Guess not._

"So how have you been?" Tyler finally broke the awkward silence.

"Good. I've been good." She replied, before making a last ditch effort to escape. "Look, Tyler, I really have to get going, I have some errands to run." She began grabbing her bags and made to stand, only to stop halfway as Tyler spoke.

"Wait, Care. I want to talk to you. Look, I don't like how we left things…" He trailed off, sending her a helpless look.

Caroline sighed heavily. _Looks like I'll have to give him more than just hints. _"Ty, you have to quit this, okay? It's over. You and I just don't fit."

"What do you mean we don't work? Can't we just _talk _for a second?" He bent a bit, trying to catch her eye again but Caroline pointedly ignored him, instead rifling through her stuff, making sure everything was there before she could go.

"Not now, Tyler, ok?" She told him agitatedly, standing up. She immediately realized something was wrong when Tyler suddenly went slack-jawed, freezing in place, his eyes focusing solely on her… stomach.

_Oh, he didn't realize… _She glanced at the various shopping bags she held in her hands. _I guess these were hiding me better than I thought, _she thought randomly.

"Oh… Oh… uh… you're… you're pregnant." Tyler stuttered out, his eyes still on her very pregnant self.

"Really?" Caroline couldn't help but remarking. "I hadn't noticed." Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she crossed her arms over her chest, a defiant tilt to her chin. _Just try and say something…_

"Oh… i-it's mine, isn't it?" _Huh?_ She found her eyes narrowing in confusion. _What's he even talking about? _"I am going to be a father. I am going to be a dad." He kept going, excitement clearly beginning to brew in him.

_He… he thinks…_

Caroline reached out and gently touched his elbow, shaking her head. "No, Ty, you're not."

"What? I'm _not_? How can I not be?" He pulled his arm out of her grasp, a look of betrayal brewing in his eyes. _Ok, this is getting out of hand. Fast._

"Just think for a minute." She tried to sound as soothing as possible, though deep down she felt her own shaky calm begin to break. "You and I… We hadn't slept together in more than a _month_ before our breakup, I'm only five months pregnant, and we ended things _weeks_ earlier than that."

They were both silent as Tyler processed this, the excitement that had been there before completely melting away. "Wait, let me get this straight... I am not the father?" He asked her, looking for confirmation as he wrapped his head around the whole idea.

"Not the father." She repeated with a small nod.

"So…" He continued, speaking as if he had just uncovered a huge secret, his eyes looking at her accusingly. "_I'm_ not the father because you _refused_ to sleep with me for a month before we_ split_, and, a couple of weeks after our breakup you just decide to sleep with some other guy?"

Caroline flinched, stepping back. "You know it wasn't like that Tyler. I just didn't want our relationship to be held together by sex!" She sighed deeply, still feeling his angry eyes on her. "Every time we got in an argument, we just ended up sleeping with each other and it never solved anything. We didn't talk to each other, Ty." She looked at him imploring, trying to make him see reason even as her insides twisted with uncertainty.

"Right, or maybe it was just because you were banging another guy the entire time." He took a step closer to her, anger clear in stance. Caroline knew he had quite the temper, she just wished she would have been able to foresee this reaction. "Or did you just turn out to be a slut and not a cheating bitch?" He accused, eyes flashing.

"_Tyler_!" Caroline gasped, feeling a harsh pang in her heart. "Why are you _saying_ this?" _Why does everyone always assume the worst of me? Do I really seem like that type of person? And even if I was, what would it matter? Would that make me a bad person? I don't think so! I can chose what to do with _my_ life. _

_But still... first Klaus and now Tyler… and he knows me! Or at least I thought he did…_

"Because it's true!" Tyler's reply was full of fury and frustration as he raked a hand through his hair. "What am I _supposed_ to think Caroline? I see you for the first time in _months_ after you've been avoiding _all_ my calls, after you refused to talk to me and then here you are, knocked up, saying it's not mine because of some bullshit excuse." His eyes met hers again. "We didn't stop sleeping together because we needed to talk, we stopped sleeping together because you were getting action somewhere else, weren't you?"

"Tyler…" She was ashamed to feel tears well up in her eyes. _Stand up for yourself Caroline! What are you doing? You didn't let Klaus talk to you like this, why won't you do the same for Tyler?_

_Because it's different with Tyler, _another voice in her mind whispered._ He's known you since high school, back when you were just the shell of the person you are now, back when you were so insecure about yourself that you took every insult without a word back._

_Tyler was your first love. It just… isn't the same with him as it is with Klaus._

"I should have known you're still that same, shallow bitch of cheerleader you were in high school." She took another step back at his disgust filled words, wanting nothing more than to just get out of there. "God, do you even know _who_ the father is?"

Caroline clenched her fist, trying to control her emotions. _Don't let him get to you, he's just angry. Show him that you are bigger than you used to be now, and not just physically… don't let him get to you._

Just when she thought that she would fail in her mission to keep it together, she heard footsteps approaching them and then a minute later felt someone place a gentle hand on her shoulder. Caroline whipped around surprisingly fast considering her… _condition_ and found the last person she wanted to see right now staring back down at her. _Oh, no… _

_Klaus…_

"Well, mate, that'd be me." He said, glancing away from her and to Tyler, eyes narrowed menacingly.

"Klaus, what are you-?" Caroline started, her own eyes narrowed in accusation as her anger started to build. _Now he's going to team up on me too? And what's with 'I'm the father' crap? He chooses _now_ to start believing me?_

Before she could say anymore, Klaus interrupted her, his hand now going around her shoulders. Caroline was so shocked by the intimate action that she didn't even attempt to throw him off her. "Tyler, is it? Well, as you can see, my girl here is very pregnant and thus rather prone to emotional outbursts and, with the way you are, how can I put this, _bothering_ her, she just might lose her temper…" At this, Klaus leaned forward, a dark sort of smirk on his face. "Or worse. _I_ will. So, I suggest you back off before you cause a scene that you really don't want to start."

By this time, Tyler was staring at them both disbelievingly, before he looked at Klaus challengingly. Caroline could already sense the testosterone battle starting and decided she better get a handle on this situation. Right. Now.

She looked from Klaus to Tyler, trying to figure just _how_ to quell this situation.

Finally coming to a decision, she decided on today's lesser of two evil's and chose to play along with Klaus, putting her arm quickly around his waist and pulled him to the side. "Come on, _honey_. Let's just go."

Surprisingly, Klaus followed her, allowing her to pull him along and out of the mall, getting them away from Tyler as fast as she could. As soon as she was outside with Klaus, the perpetual stranger and father or her child, she shoved his arm away from her and put a safe distance between them.

Klaus, however, didn't notice, too busy seething. "Who _was_ that asshole?" He asked with a slight growl.

"An ex…" Caroline muttered, quietly, the tears that were formerly in her eyes having completely dried. "What are you doing here, Klaus?" She questioned before he could interrupt her again, glaring at him.

They both stood silent for a moment before Klaus let out a familiar smirk, crossing his arms and leaning one shoulder against the wall beside him. "Well, sweetheart, I _thought_ I was getting coffee from my favorite vendor."

"Coffee?" She repeated with no small amount of disbelief. _I mean, what are the odds?_

_Does he really think I'm _that_ much of an idiot? I'm not _that_ blonde…_

Klaus held out both his arms in gesture of faux innocence. "Why do you sound so incredulous? My office happens to be just across the street." He told her, annoying smirk still on his face.

_What is his _problem? _God!_

"Ok, well, thanks or whatever, but I have to go." Caroline shrugged, the frustration in her actions quite apparent as she adjusted her hold on her bags brusquely. "_Great_ seeing you." She continued with sarcasm, before turning to go.

"Caroline, wait." Klaus said, almost gently, sighing slightly.

She turned back around, exasperated. "Look, I _meant_ what I said the other day. We don't _need_ you."

His amiable expression melted away into something much darker and Caroline was sure that that would be the end of it, that he would give up. Instead, Klaus surprised her, took her off guard by actually admitting that she had the right of it for a change.

"No, you're right, it's not just coincidence I found you here." He told her, oddly sincere; Caroline had the feeling that this sort of thing was out of character for him. Still, she was wary. "I'll be honest with you and say I was looking for you. What you told me the other day was _ridiculous_ and a lot to take in, even you have to admit." Caroline scoffed at his words, looking away, even though her heart sank a little with guilt for that whole fiasco. "However, I have had time to think of it and I believe, at the time, I came to my conclusions too soon."

She turned back, keeping her shields up. "What do you mean? Can you just _get _to the point?"

He hesitated for only a brief moment. "Maybe… there was some truth to your words."

_Hold up…_

"So you believe me?" She asked doubtfully.

Klaus shook his head, immediately confirming her doubts. "I believe that there is a _possibility_, we went quite a few rounds that night if I recall correctly." He tacked on cockily at the end, causing her to frown at him, glaring again. _He just digs himself deeper and deeper doesn't he?_

"So what then?" She questioned, annoyed and frustrated. "You want me to _prove_ it to you? _Why_ would I even do that now?" _After last time, what do I owe you? You clearly didn't want this._

_You caught him off guard, though, made him look like an idiot. _Caroline ignored that second thought, instead choosing on the easier emotion to stick with; anger.

But it seemed Klaus knew exactly what to say to get her to change her mind.

"Every child deserves to know their parents, do they not? Look, Caroline…" He stopped for a moment, for once serious. "I just want to know if I really am the father."

_Damn him… Of course he knows how to play on my insecurities of being a good mom…_

He was watching her silently, both of standing tense, waiting for her answer, but already Caroline knew what she would have to tell him, she'd known it since he first appeared today.

"_Fine_." She hissed, causing Klaus to send her a small, pleased smile. This just made her even more annoyed at him. "But I am _not_ doing this for _you_." She told him quickly, causing him to raise a brow her way. "I'm doing this for _my_ baby." She stepped closer to him, sending him a death stare. "And let's get something straight, I do _not_ like you and I do _not_ forgive you."

Klaus just nodded, smile dropping away. "Very well."

"Good." She said after a silent moment, surprised at how easily he had given in to her. _Huh… well, ok, I guess. _"We'll find out then…" She tried to get her thoughts organized as her mind went reeling, all of today's events finally getting to her. "I'll get a paternity test set up, and I'll contact you." _No way am I giving you a way to get to me, _she thought pettily. Without another word, she nodded once at him in farewell, before turning to go, stalking away with what was left of her dignity shrouding her.

"Caroline?" Klaus called after, sounding annoyingly amused by something. She turned with a huff.

"What _now_?"

He smirked widely at her, holding out a white card to her. "You can't exactly contact me if you don't have my number now can you, sweetheart?"

_Oh… _Caroline was irritated to feel her cheeks begin to burn up in embarrassment. She shuffled quickly to him and reached out to grab the card from his hand. As her fingers touched his, she felt indefinable sparks run up her arm, something she would _definitely_ deny later on. Klaus met her eyes, seemingly looking into her soul as he grabbed her hand suddenly in his, pulling her lightly closer.

"You know, if this child really is mine, we are going to have to get along to at least some degree, love." He whispered to her, searching her eyes before a light smirk once again graced his features.

This little action caused Caroline to come back to herself and she immediately ripped her hand away from his, stepping back with a huff. "Well since we _don't_ know for sure I have no problem treating the way I am." She told him with her own smirk before turning and walking resolutely away.

"I'll see you around, Caroline." Klaus called after her, mirth in his tone.

"What_ever_." She replied, barely restraining herself from flipping him off as she sauntered away from him as fast as she could.

_What is it about him that makes me revert back to a five-year-old?_ Well, whatever it was, Caroline was just glad to put some distance between her and Klaus.

Right?

* * *

Klaus watched Caroline walk away with an amused smirk. Despite the fact that a lot had happened to her today, she still stayed strong and took no crap from him; it was something that rarely occurred in Klaus' life, and something that he found himself admiring.

To be honest, Klaus was rather surprised that he had been able to find her so soon. Luckily, Maddox was very good at his job and had given him a list of places that she often frequented and her home address. At first he had thought of maybe going to her place, but knew that would probably only get him a door slammed in his face. So, instead, he had gone through the list of places and found, to his surprise, that one of her favorite places just so happened to be close to his office. So, for the last week or so, he had been going to the same coffee vendor in the mall everyday, in hopes of seeing her.

He knew it had been a long shot, and he realized he had been only a day or so away from just going with Plan A and just appearing at her apartment.

And then, _there_ she was. Caroline Forbes. He had finally learned her full name, thanks to Maddox's detective skills and knew a lot about her. She was a nurse at the local hospital and a good one at that, she had grown up in Mystic Falls with her mother, had been a cheerleader in high school… the list went on.

For some reason, the more Klaus found out about her, the more intrigued he was by her.

So when he saw her at the mall, sitting by herself, he held back, wanting to observe her for a moment, learn more about her in a different way (that _didn't_ involve borderline illegal actions). And then the guy came, the stranger. They obviously knew each other, but there was a strange tension between them. When they started arguing, Klaus found himself moving forward, wanting to intercept them. And when he heard the insults flying at Caroline…

He still didn't understand what had made him so _angry_ about that. Hadn't he only a week before said much the same thing? But, still, he had found himself defending her, something he had never, in a million years, expected to do. The protectiveness that had risen in his chest had truly shocked him.

It must have been a fluke, nothing more than a mistake… Or so he tried to tell himself.

Still, at least he had done what he had wanted to do since his decision last week. He had found Caroline and he had convinced her into giving him, _somewhat_, a second chance. He would find out the truth of this possibility that had been plaguing his every thought.

He'd just have to ignore his other thoughts on the enigma that was Caroline Forbes. After all, like she said, she didn't really need him… right?

**That's it for now, my lovelies :) Next update will be a lot sooner, I promise! However, after that, the updates might a bit fewer and further between because my exams are coming up! Hope you all forgive me!**

**Anyways, thanks for reading and let me know what you think!**

**RW**


	5. Truth

**Thank you to **_**Guest**_**, Jo, Layla, Epitomeofme, Onceuponatimeships, veronica, Laura, Jen, redbudrose, SmilesAndLaughs, Brina3, Nat, Natalie, .5, thexlittlexlisa, RCB04, i love klaus and damon, shadowfaxangel, JennylovesKlaus, Emowyen, **_**Guest**_**, Jen7, Lisolotte, walkinthegardengnome, yourloved, SweetyK, redbudrose, Esperanza14, ILove2Write13, PsychVamp, Rorylvalkovic, Marta, arabella, babyvfan, KRISTINE.W, ilovetvd, chillwithJyl, Ellavm18, vulnera-sapientia (x2), Eliza, **_**Guest**_**, Aaaammber, Christobel, mysticgirl125, Juliet Taylor, jamie, **_**Guest**_**, **_**Guest**_**, ApekshaStar, Lovely Rain Dancer, KlarOlinelOver17, Shellbees, meredith77, HelloCutePanda, .Executioner, Team Damon Mom, glevez25, EmmaRedVelvet, MysteryGirl3, jessinicole, ilyreid, TheMiseducationofB, and the tree was happy, MarsterRoo, and ANGELiCAWROTE for reviewing!**

**Hehehe….. So…. I've been gone for a while…. I know, I know, I am a horrible author… Life just got to me and major writer's block tends to get in the way. Hopefully, from now on I will be able to update more frequently! Still, I'm really, really sorry for making you wait so long!**

**A huge, HUGE thank you for carasedrin for continuing to be so awesome and helping out with this story ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD, sorry.**

Chapter Four

Truth

"_And everyday I see the news, all the problems that we could solve... And when a situation rises, just write it into an album… Send it straight to gold, but I don't really like my flow."_

Caroline considered herself to be the type of person who thought things through. In her world, everything was part of the plan she had meticulously designed back in the seventh grade. Of course, that plan had completely veered off track as of late. But did that mean _everything_ had to go to shit? Ok, maybe she was over exaggerating but, _come on_.

She really wished she had thought this whole thing through and _hadn't_ told Klaus when and where her doctor's appointment would be. Of course, it was implied that a paternity test would include both parties involved but just because she did what she promised and contacted him about it, didn't mean it was an automatic invitation to just come _along_. Ok, yes, he needed to give a DNA sample for the whole thing to work and all that but he could have done that another day!

But there he was, standing outside the red brick building that held the clinic, hands in the pockets of his dark jeans, _waiting_. Maybe she should just ask Stefan to turn back around and take her home.

It wasn't that Caroline completely _hated_ the guy (well, she kind of did… _does_), but she just wasn't ready to face him again after last time. A part of her was embarrassed at the whole Tyler debacle and she didn't want to know Klaus' undoubtedly annoying opinion on it. _Why would I even care what he thinks?_

_Because he's the father of your child, and this whole thing is to prove that fact to him, _the more reasonable part of her answered.

Caroline sighed, her thoughts shifting to the business card currently occupying her pocket, regretting its very existence. _If I didn't have the stupid thing I wouldn't have felt obligated to call him._

The words still stuck in her head.

_Mikaelson Art & Antiquities_

_Niklaus Mikaelson CEO_

The guy ran his own _company_. The idea bothered Caroline more than she thought possible. It just didn't sit right with the image she had of him – the image of the good-for-nothing womanizer with no responsibilities. _And yet he's responsible enough to head his firm. _Not that she would admit it, but for some reason that fact made her feel somewhat… inadequate.

Sighing, Caroline decided to face her fate. _I might as well get used to having the guy around. I mean I'm here to prove to him he's the father of my child, right? Neither of us would be here otherwise. I need to give this a chance._

Caroline was pulled out of her thoughts when the person in the driver's seat of the car she was currently sulking in spoke to her.

"Earth to Care. Hello? You in there?" Stefan asked, even going so far as to wave a hand in front of her face, trying to get her attention as she stared out of the window of the car.

"Hm?" She finally met his gaze, though there was a distracted light in hers.

Stefan just rolled his eyes slightly, an amused grin on his face. "I just asked if you were planning on getting out any time soon… unless, of course, you're too busy staring at Klaus over there." He tacked on at the end, shooting her a knowing look.

"Hey!" Caroline immediately exclaimed, her full attention now on her friend, desperately hoping he wouldn't notice the red tinge of embarrassment on her cheeks. "You know it's not like that… I just… I don't know. Maybe I never should have told him."

Her friend lost his teasing expression, suddenly turning serious. "Care, you did the right thing, ok? You may not have gone about it the right way…" She shot him a semi annoyed look at the reminder of her little outburst at the bar, even though she knew he had a point. Stefan only smiled in response though, shaking his head. "You did the right thing..." He reaffirmed. "So stop second-guessing yourself and get out of the car. I do have other things to do besides being your chauffer, you know?"

Caroline looked down at her lap for a moment before meeting Stefan's eyes with a smile. "Thanks. I needed that." She told him.

"I know." Stefan replied with a smirk. "Now go before you make me even later."

"Yeah, yeah." Caroline rolled her eyes before leaning forward and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "See you later, grumpkin." She laughed lightly at her friend's mock annoyed face before getting out of the car. Caroline was grateful that he had come all this with her to make she was all right going through with this. She waved him off as he drove away, probably a little longer than necessary, still trying to avoid going to Klaus, whose eyes she could feel on her back.

"Caroline." His familiar voice called. "There you are, sweetheart, I was worried you would be a no show."

The blonde took a deep breath before turning to face him, a tight smile on her face. "Well, not all of us can be like you." She told him mockingly, not being able to stop herself despite her previous resolve to be nicer. Immediately after she said it, she winced internally. _Great start, Caroline… Really. _

Luckily, Klaus didn't seem affected as he approached her, amusement dancing in his eyes. She found her own eyes scanning him as he approached, taking in his casual appearance, the necklaces he wore reminding her of their night they spent together over five months ago, of the way she had used them to pull him down to her lips. It was hard to believe he had his own business.

"My, aren't we feisty today?" Klaus commented with a wide smirk, interrupting her thoughts. Caroline didn't deign to answer that.

"Look, maybe we should just go in now, ok?" The blonde said instead, eyeing the door to the clinic warily. It might sound odd but Caroline was not actually the biggest fan of going to the doctor's even though, being a nurse, she constantly worked around them. She didn't like being the patient; she preferred to be the one taking care of the patient, making sure they were comfortable, keeping them as healthy as they could be. Just like she had done with her father all those years ago…

"After you." Klaus invited, pulling Caroline out of her melancholic thoughts. She snapped her gaze up to him, startled by his interruption. She found his eyes staring steadily back at her, blue and sparkling, strangely grounding her. There was none of his usual snark in his face now. In fact, Caroline couldn't quite read him; the face that at first she thought was a simple open book now seemed like much more of a mystery to her.

Before she allowed herself to analyze this any further, the blonde nodded tersely and walked up the steps to the door, trying to convey confidence.

She tried to ignore the fact that she felt strangely more at ease when she noticed Klaus' hand hovering over the small of her back, a silent sign that she wasn't alone in this.

* * *

Caroline stood nervously at the reception desk, the twirling in her stomach for once not caused by the life that was growing there. She knew she was being ridiculous; she was a nurse for crying out loud! She should be in her element - she dealt with similar situations daily. But being on the other side of this situation... she wasn't quite sure how to deal with that.

Caroline frowned, only half listening as Klaus stepped forward to talk to the receptionist. Luckily the blonde was paying enough attention to follow the both of them as they were led to the small room where she would finally be able to put some evidence behind her claims. As she walked beside Klaus to the room, she noticed the young woman leading them giving her barely concealed dirty looks.

_What the hell is her problem?_

Finally, they reached their destination and the receptionist opened the door for them, a huge fake smile on her face. "Here we are Mr. and Mrs. Mikaelson." She trilled in an exceedingly shrill voice, her eyes drilling angry holes through Caroline's skull.

_Wait! WHAT?_

"Um… I, uh…" Caroline stumbled over her words, completely bewildered._ Why would she think that? _As soon as her first thought ended, her mind went on a whirlwind, suddenly realizing why the girl was acting to weirdly to her. _Ohmygod! Is that why she's been giving me those looks this entire time? We're going in for freaking paternity test - she must think I cheated on him or something and that why we're getting the thing in the first place! _

_Damn it, I really shouldn't have let Klaus do the talking. _

_But, seriously, where does this bitch think she's coming from? She should just keep her judgy little looks to herself and do her job. How does she have the freaking nerve to think she's knows my entire life story from just one conversation?_

_Oh, she is _so _getting it._

Seething, Caroline found herself already forming a biting reply when Klaus suddenly put an entirely unwelcome arm around her waist, hand resting lightly on her swollen belly, and her response died on her tongue. She snapped eyes up to the man, her glare shifting from little miss bitch to Klaus' annoyingly calm face. _What's he doing?_

With a charming smile, Klaus spoke with barely veiled patronization. "I'm afraid it's just Mr. Mikaelson for now, until I can convince Ms. Forbes here otherwise." For once, what Klaus did was actually a pleasant surprise and Caroline found her glare melting away into a look of astonishment. It was because of this that when he looked down at her and gave her a decidedly saucy wink, Caroline's lips actually twisted into the smallest of smiles. "She's really a keeper." Klaus continued after a moment, looking back to the receptionist.

To the Caroline's somewhat sadistic pleasure, the other woman wore a look of offended shock and before that blonde could even so much as smirk at her, Klaus stepped forward, pulling his arm from her waist as he did so, and closed the door on the receptionist, effectively dismissing her. Caroline had to fight really, _really _hard not to let the amusement show on her face. She could say a lot of things about Klaus, but he was nothing if not unexpected. He continuously surprised her, especially his willingness to back her up. First Tyler, now this girl. She wasn't sure exactly sure how she should be reacting to this but she _was_ grateful for his actions.

Of course, she wasn't going to let Klaus know that.

So, she did the mature thing; she wacked Klaus on the shoulder… _Hard_. "What was _that_?" She exclaimed, referring to the pretend-couple thing that's he's already done twice.

Naturally, Klaus remained unfazed and simply grinned at her amusedly. "Come on, sweetheart, live a little."

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm living for _two_ now… and quit with the 'sweetheart' thing." Caroline hissed, though it was without her usual viciousness.

Klaus' grin widened as he chuckled. "Alright, love."

"Ugh!" The blonde threw up her hands in exasperation before turning away from him and sitting down heavily in one of the chairs, waiting impatiently for the doctor to come in so they could get this over with. _Why is he so infuriating? I should just stop talking to him – I bet then we could get along _spectacularly.

Caroline almost snorted at her own thoughts, crossing her arms over chest. She ignored Klaus as he sat next to her, that stupid smirk still on his face.

It was going to be a _long _appointment.

She wouldn't realize until later that he had managed to stop her nervous thoughts over visiting the doctor in the first place.

* * *

It had been just over a week since Klaus and her went in for the paternity test and since then Caroline had thought of nothing else. She analyzed and analyzed and analyzed every moment, from her little encounter with the receptionist to Klaus' teasing manner... To the way he had stood silently by her side when the doctor collected amniotic fluid by the use of a very large needle. And she thought _constantly_ of the results, waiting nervously for them. She was pretty much driving her friends crazy with her nervousness. She wasn't even sure _why _she was so nervous; she knew what the results were going to be, after all. So why would it be bothering her?

Maybe she was just anticipating Klaus' reaction. Much as she hated to admit it, she knew that what Klaus thought and how he would react was actually really important. She realized that her baby needed a father; Caroline couldn't imagine what her life would have been like without the time she had spent time with her own father.

It was because of these reasons that Caroline hesitated when she received the envelope that held the news. _It's not news. I know what it is. I know what the answer will be._

But Caroline was still nervous.

Taking a deep breath, she ripped the envelope open, pulling the papers out of it quickly, her eyes scanning the small font until they found what they were looking for.

_DNA markers… identified similarities…. father…_

_Niklaus Mikaelson._

Caroline froze, unsure of what she should be doing now. She had been right, of course she had been right. She'd known it all along. Then what was this odd suffocating feeling in her chest, this pressure on her heart?

With a heavy sign, Caroline sat down in one of her comfortable armchairs, rubbing her face gently. _What's going to happen now? _There was a whole lot of emotion running through her right now that she wasn't sure where or even how she would begin. One thing was odd, however, she was not _disappointed_ with the results; she not was disappointed that Klaus was the father of her child. Which, in itself, was definitely shocking, after all there was no love lost between the two of them. _But I have seen his calmer side; he may tease the heck out of me and annoy me but maybe… maybe we don't have to do this with all the hate and tension. _

_Maybe we can work this out as friends… well, acquaintances._

With that more positive thought on her mind, Caroline reached for her cell phone, thumbing through her list of contacts until she came to the name she was looking for. She didn't allow herself to hesitate, knowing that if she paused for even a moment she would most likely lose her nerve. She dialed.

And the phone rang. And rang. And rang. Until finally a voicemail message came up.

"_You've reached Klaus Mikaelson. I am currently attending to some business; feel free to leave a message if it's important."_

Caroline sighed to herself, relieved and yet strangely disappointed. Soon enough she heard the telltale _ping_ signifying that she should begin her message. "Hey, Klaus…" She paused, thinking of what she could say. "Um, so I got the paternity test results back and I guess you did too so I suppose you know… Look, just give me a call ok?"

She hung up quickly, knowing that she would likely start to ramble if she kept talking.

* * *

When Caroline had contacted him in order to inform she was going ahead with the paternity test, also telling him that he needed to give a DNA sample at some point, he'd been wary and filled anticipation. He could tell that she didn't want him there with her, of course; Caroline wasn't as subtle as she seemed to think and Klaus wasn't completely clueless. He was a businessman, after all, it was part of his job to see through people's bullshit.

So, instead of following her unspoken demand, Klaus did exactly what she didn't want him to do. He showed up at her appointment, with a smirk on his face, planning on doing nothing but riling her up. There was just something about getting Caroline worked up that appealed to Klaus.

But then she had to go and get that look on her face as she stared up at the door of the doctor's office. The look that made her seem like she had seen too much life; sadness laced with nervousness and even some fear.

And the next thing Klaus knew, he was helping her out. _Again_. He'd thought helping her get rid of her ex was a fluke on his part, that something like that wouldn't happen anymore. But then he defended Caroline against that annoying secretary.

Klaus simply didn't understand why he _did_ that.

It was not that Klaus was a bad person, per se, but he wasn't exactly a good person either. He wasn't the type to help out someone unless there was something in it for him. And he _definitely_ wasn't the type to get so protective over a woman he _barely knew._

What was _wrong_ with him lately?

Klaus didn't know. So he naturally did the most responsible thing he could do. He ignored all thoughts of this and dug his head in the sand or, in his case, drank copious amounts of alcohol.

The only thing he _didn't_ avoid thinking about was the actual paternity test and its results. He had mixed feelings about, to say the least. Klaus wasn't even sure if he would be able to describe what he was feeling. All he knew was that he _needed_ to get those results _now._

So, when he finally did get that all-important envelope, he didn't wait a second to open it and look.

And now, here Klaus was, holding paper in his hands, staring down at it in wonder, shock, and fear.

The baby was his. Caroline's baby… No, _their_ baby.

He was going to be a father. It was _real… _And Klaus was suddenly overwhelmed. This entire time there had been a chance that this whole thing was a simple fantasy concocted by one of his crazy many one-night-stands. But Caroline wasn't crazy and this fantasy turned out to be a reality.

_Caroline. _Klaus supposed he would be spending a lot more time with the woman now. Since first reading the news he had decided that he wouldn't be an absent father. No, he would _try_ to be there for his child, his baby; he would try to be a good dad.

But doing so meant he would have to interact with his child's mother.

The blonde was… _different_. Different from any other person he'd met. Unpredictable but dependable. Frustrating but strangely hypnotic. She was the expectant mother to their child. And he was surprised to find he was protective of them both, despite Caroline's often less than pleasant behavior towards him.

_Our child, _Klaus couldn't help the tiny smile that lit his face as the thought popped in his head.

_My child._

But then Klaus began to doubt. Yes, his plan was to support his child, to be there for him or her. It was his responsibility, wasn't it? Isn't that what he should do? What he _wanted_ to do?

But, should he be a father? Wouldn't he be a horrible at it? The only father he had ever had was Mikael, and god knows he was _not_ a good example. Where would Klaus even begin with parenting his own child?

The sound of his phone vibrating nearby shook him out of his thoughts. He was quick to grab the phone from the coffee table in front of him but, noting the name on the screen, he decided not to pick up. He needed a moment to process this new information fully and if he talked to Caroline now, he knew he wouldn't be able to do that.

So, sighing, he closed his phone and sat back in his couch, rubbing a tired hand over his face.

Klaus was going to be a father. He was going to have a child.

He was going to have a child with _Caroline_, the one woman in the world he wasn't sure what to think of.

Clearly, this was going to go well.

* * *

She sat across Klaus in the small café, exhausted after having just finished an overnight shift but buzzing with new nervous energy. Klaus had finally ended up calling her back about four hours after she'd left her voice message. Their phone conversation had been awkward, stilted, but at least they'd managed to set up a meet for the next day.

And now here they were. Caroline sent Klaus a hesitant half-smile as she sat, playing with her fingers, trying to get out from under the weight of this silence. Klaus seemed to be doing the same thing as he stared at her, his blue eyes electric as they examined her, full of sharpness.

"So, what now?" Caroline finally asked, wincing internally at her somewhat confrontational tone. _Damn it, Care, tone it down. Just relax, he's here with you and you two need to act like adults about this._

"Now," Klaus leaned forward on the table, still staring at her, "now we figure this out."

"You're sticking around?" The blonde exclaimed in return, unable to hide her surprise. She'd thought that _maybe_, at _best_, he would pay child support and perhaps even ask for visitation rights every once in a while. But _really_ staying? And helping out? Is _that _what he wants?

"You have to ask?" Klaus asked, annoyance clear in his tone in response to Caroline's own haughty one. This time Caroline really did wince. _I guess, I should really just stop with all the judgy-ness._

"Well, can you blame me? I barely even _know_ you and what I _have _seen…" She trailed off with a small shrug, tentative again. She didn't want to mess this up. Klaus may not be her most liked person, and yeah he may frustrate her to end, but he was still the father of her child… and she didn't need to be egging him on. Caroline may not like to admit it, but she hadn't exactly been making it easy on either of them.

"You don't think I'm good enough, that I can do this." Klaus' voice was monotonous; his face devoid of emotion but his eyes a stormy blue.

"I'm not trying to start an argument and I wasn't saying that." Caroline replied quickly, stopping this fight before it could begin. "What I _was_ saying is that I just don't know. I'll admit, I was quick to judge you before, and probably a little too harshly." She took a deep breath, finding it harder to admit all this out loud than she thought it would be. "My opinion of you didn't change because I didn't _want_ it to change." She turned her eyes away from Klaus, looking at her hands instead. She could still feel his gaze on her, however, feel it burning into her.

"And now?" He asked her after a moment, his voice less harsh than it was before. When Caroline looked back up to him, she saw that his eyes were less troubled and more curious.

"Like I said." Caroline spoke quietly. "I don't know you well enough, so maybe I should actually _get_ to know you before I form an opinion."

Finally, the tension around them broke when Klaus suddenly smirked widely, amused. "Well, well you've certainly done some real thinking about this haven't you love?"

"Don't push me, Klaus, I'm giving you a chance here." She replied smartly, though her tone was teasing rather than annoyed.

"I know." His smirk changed into a small smile. "Now I can't promise that I will be the best of fathers, but I will promise that I can _try._" For once, everything about Klaus was completely sincere and Caroline found herself actual _liking_ this version of the man.

"That's all I ask." She smiled at him now, a _real_ smile.

"Caroline?" He asked after a moment, trying to sound nonchalant though she could see the interest in his expression. "Why are you doing this? Giving me a chance?"

"Like you said, our child deserves have _both_ its parents." She paused, not having anything left to say on the matter. She'd had the conversation she'd wanted to have and she was pretty sure she couldn't do any other sort of planning now, considering the fact that her eyes seemed like they would close at any moment. _I'm so freaking tired. I really shouldn't have agreed to do this after my shift._ "Look, I'm going to get about I call you later so we can figure just exactly what we're going to do?" Caroline offered, not wanting Klaus to think she wanted to avoid him or anything else like that.

Klaus, for his part, only nodded in assent. "Sounds like a plan."

The blonde sent him a small smile, standing up slowly. She hesitated as she turned to walk away, looking down at the still seated man in front of her. _Well this isn't at all awkward. _"Ok, um… bye." Caroline could have died in embarrassment at her complete and utter _ineptness_ as she turned around abruptly and headed for the door.

She wasn't so fast that she missed _his _farewell, however.

"Goodbye, Caroline." Klaus called after her.

Caroline tried to ignore that odd feeling in her stomach at the way her name rolled off his tongue.

**Again, I just want to say sorry for being so incredibly late with this chapter! I am so, so, so, sorry! You have no idea! I swear the next one WON'T take so long.**

**Also, I'll be finishing the epilogue of The Scars Not Seen soon ;)**

**About the paternity test – I am not a doctor or expert in the area so I can't guarantee that anything above is any way correct. I only used what I found on the internet (and we all know that there are often inaccuracies). According to my 'research' I found that there were different types of prenatal paternity tests which is why my own description of it is rather vague. I hope that didn't bother anyone or mess with the believability of the story!**

**Anyways, thanks for reading and let me know what you think!**

**RW**


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